2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
We continue looking at citations in which God (or other persons of the Trinity) is referred to as the Angel of the Lord with an eye to noticing how God reveals Himself. I am led to recall the story of a little-known man, Manoah, and his wife from JG 13. We’ve looked at this story before in another context, but it bears re-examining in this one. It is not the first time in the Scriptures that a woman who has been unable to bear children has a visitation from the Angel of the Lord, Who tells her that she will bear a son. The same thing happened to Sarah [GN 18: 10]. In that case, it was Isaac, the son of the promise, who was born to Sarah when she and her husband were both well past child-bearing age. God’s purpose in this was the establishment of the Jewish nation, although it is likely Sarah and Abraham really didn’t perceive the full extent of God’s purpose. In the case of Manoah and his wife from the town of Zorah, God’s immediate purpose was to bring their son into being to serve Him as a Nazirite. You will remember from NU 6: 1-8, a Nazirite is any man or women who takes a vow to dedicate himself (or herself) to the Lord. This person agrees to abstain from wine and beer, shall not drink any kind of drink from grapes or raisins, agrees never to cut his (or her) hair or shave, and will never defile himself (or herself) by going near a corpse (even one of a relative). As long as he is a Nazirite, he is dedicated to the Lord. God’s long-range goal for Manoah’s son is to bring a man on the scene who will begin the work of freeing Israel from the control of the Philistines. That boy born to Manoah’s wife would be Samson.
If God had wanted us to know just the facts I’ve already presented, He wouldn’t have led us to read the story in JG 13, and thus, we would have missed the interactions between Him, Manoah, and Manoah’s wife. It is in these interactions that God reveals His attributes to us. JG 13: 3, “The Lord’s Angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, ‘You have never been able to have children, but you will soon be pregnant and have a son.’ “ He tells her to be sure not to drink any wine or beer or never cut the boy’s hair, because this boy will be a Nazirite dedicated to God. He even tells her in (5) that her son will begin the work of rescuing Israel from the Philistines. Later when Manoah’s wife told her husband about her meeting with the Angel, it becomes obvious that she recognized his predictions as being real and had some idea of the importance of this visit (6-7). Manoah needed further confirmation, so he prayed for the Angel to return to tell them what to do with the boy when he is born (8). This prayer is answered when the Angel reappears and speaks with both of them (13-14). Manoah asked the Angel in (17) what is His name. JG 13: 18, “The Angel asked, ‘Why do you want to know My name? It is a name of wonder.” After that, Manoah offers to roast a goat for Him to show his hospitality. Instead, the Angel tells Manoah to roast the goat, not as a meal for them but as an offering to God. JG 13: 21-22, “While the flames were going up from the altar, Manoah and his wife saw the Angel of the Lord go up toward heaven in the flames. Manoah realized then the Man had been the Angel of the Lord. They threw themselves face down on the ground and never saw the Angel of the Lord again. Then, they came to the conclusion that the Lord would have never accepted their offerings or been willing to allow them to see Him and live, if He hadn’t wanted to allow this. All of the Angel’s predictions came true (24).
God’s omniscience is revealed in His foreknowledge of Samson’s birth and his knowledge that Manoah’s wife had never been able to have a child before. Yesterday, I cited IS 55: 8-9 and feel it bears repeating here. “ ‘My thoughts,’ says the Lord, ‘are not like your thoughts, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways and thoughts above yours.’ “ The story of Manoah, like that of Sarah and Abraham, shows that humans don’t have the perspective that God has. We can only see the part of an assignment He gives us that fits the limited world we can easily perceive. On the other hand, God sees things as impacting mankind over much larger periods of time and as fitting into the construct of His plan for us. That is why it is so important for us to have faith, even if it means that we must plunge into obeying Him in ways we don’t understand. There is something more that reveals the depth of God’s perspective. He knew ahead of time that Manoah and his wife would 1) recognize Him for Who He is and 2) obey His direction in raising their son, so that the boy would be able to carry out God’s plan for him. When Manoah and his wife prostrated themselves after the Angel left, their innate humility was revealed-a necessary trait for them to carry out His will. God revealed Himself in his answer to Manoah’s question about His name in (18), “It is a name of wonder.” He is a Lord Who works wonders. It is no accident that the same name is applied to Christ in IS 9: 6, “Unto us a child is born; a son is given! And the government shall be upon His shoulders. He shall be called ‘Wonderful,’ ‘Counselor,’ ‘Almighty God,’ ‘Prince of Peace.’ “
In looking at His plan for both Isaac and Samson, we can’t help but see the Lord’s ultimate sovereignty coupled with His exquisite compassion for mankind. The Jews were established as a nation to be “a nation of priests” [EX 19: 5-6 & 1 PET 2: 9] and “a light to the nations” [IS 49: 6]. In bringing Isaac to Sarah, God was establishing a line which would one day be known as the “royal line of David,” the line out of which Christ would come. God knew that this nation, Israel, had to be saved from the iron grip of the Philistines. It was the nation He had not only granted the privilege of being His children, but it was the nation that He charged with the responsibility of carrying His word to the rest of the world. Thus, God reveals Himself as Israel’s (and our) Refuge and Rescuer in bringing Samson on the scene to begin this work. When we look at both of these stories from the Bible, it begins to dawn on us how much our loving Abba wants us to know Him personally.
PRAYER: O Lord, there are decisions that You make in heaven which are always in our best interests that we find hard to fully understand. Your sovereign power is never used for unrighteous reasons. By letting us know You are omniscient in the lives of Sarah, Abraham, Manoah, and his wife, You remind us that You are omniscient in our lives as well. We have each been invited to join You in Your work, and You have given us unique talents and qualities which outfit us to do that work. We are called to follow Your guidance, and to know You as the Lord of our lives. If that requires us to make changes in our lives, just as the four people from the Scriptures in this message were, then we should make them. We offer You, Dear Father, the willingness to follow Your direction with courage of faith. You help us to do that when You reveal Yourself to us, and thus, You bless us. You are truly our Refuge and our Rescuer. We humbly offer You our adoration, worship, reverence, trust, obedience, loyalty, honor, glory, praise, and utmost thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the story of how Israel got her name to see how the Angel of God reveals His wonderful attributes. I never get tired of expressing my daily discovery of how much our Abba loves each and every one of us. He conveys that to me every time I study His marvelous word. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn